Wired has a very interesting article about music blogs that are starting their own music “micro-labels” . From the article:
“I think music blogs are very much dictating the signing habits of record labels, and while I don’t believe blogs will ever phase out record labels entirely, they’re definitely revolutionizing the way record labels approach A&R and the process of scouting music in the new age of the music industry,” said Derek Davies in an e-mail to Wired.com
Music lovers are getting addicted to the new service called Turntable.fm on Facebook. Part music service and part social game (complete with avatars, playlists and an awesome/lame measurement meter) could this be the killer app that merges the two industries? Articles and analysis from:
Technorati In turntable.fm you log in with your Facebook account (in fact, you can also use it in Facebook’s site as a Facebook app). However, the link with that social network ends there: when logged in, you get to choose your nickname and your avatar.
GigaOM “ The third era of social music is about immersion, as sites like Turntable.fm and Outloud.fm make online music seem more like off-line social music sharing (remember that?) by adding more immediacy and intimacy to the experience. “
DVICE “ Each room has five DJ spots that rotate, and the rest of the users populate a crowd that judges each tune, deeming it “lame” or “awesome.” As for picking tunes, there’s a central Turntable list you select from, or you can upload songs yourself if you don’t see what you’re looking for. “
Video – Turntable.fm demo by Lifehacker
Filed under avatar, Facebook, Music, social networks, Turntable.fm
Facebook may be gearing up to take a big bite out of the online music industry by combining their social network platform with mobile music services such as Spotify and Last.FM. Articles and analysis from:
VentureBeat ” The combination of Project Spartan and Facebook’s new media focus could lead to a robust mobile music service that would take advantage of existing services like Spotify, Last.FM, and Rdio, while also becoming yet another thorn in Apple’s side. “
Forbes “ According to research firm Nielsen, 70 percent of phone sales are still non-smartphone devices, so Facebook stands to make money from those who want smartphone-like devices but cannot afford them. “
ZDNet ” What’s interesting here is that Facebook may never have to deal with record labels since it is partnering with the middlemen. This has the advantage of giving users access to multiple offerings and the disadvantage of confusing them with extra steps to get started with Facebook Music. “
Social networking giant Facebook will team with online music streaming service Spotify according to sources. Articles and analysis from:
Forbes ” Spotify already has Facebook Connect integrated into its own desktop interface, allowing users to see what their friends on Facebook are listening to, and opt to have music choices show up on their news feeds. The new service on the Facebook platform will have similar social features. “
Financial Post “ Once launched, users will be able to download the Spotify application on their own computer or access the firm’s expansive musical database remotely through Facebook “
Huffington Post “ Amazon, Google, Apple, and now Facebook: The social network is reportedly preparing to launch a streaming music service in a partnership with music startup Spotify. “
Filed under Facebook, marketing, social networks, Spotify, streaming
Mashable has an interesting article that shines the spotlight on eight different YouTube Video Channels that provide music news. From the article:
” We’ve combed through YouTube to find a selection of channels boasting music news and videos that will appeal to a spectrum of fans; from those who like hip-hop to those who prefer punk, and a goodly selection of genres in between. “
With the demise of Guitar Hero, industry experts are starting to point to social network gaming on Facebook as the next great frontier for music games. Articles and analysis from:
The Business Insider “ Not an opportunity in social games? Facebook has over 600 million users and has a private market capitalization 5 times greater than Activision’s. Zynga’s market cap is now 150% that of EA even though Zynga is still private. The Apple App store has sold over 1 billion apps. People like those experiences, business models. The iPad and tablets are real competitors to Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP product lines. ”
The Music Network “ Facebook had 500 million users at the end of 2010 with 200 million of them playing social games every month. The most popular title was Farmville, but other music-based games (notably Music Pets, Nightclub City and SongHi) are coming through “
SearchCRM “ Like many companies, Activision, the maker of popular video games like “Call of Duty” and “Guitar Hero,” has begun to experiment with serving its customers via social networks. “
Filed under Facebook, Guitar Hero, marketing, Music, Rock Bands, social networks
Mashable has a good article about how to buy and sell music on Facebook using a service called Impulse from Moontoast. From the article:
” With Impulse, fans can listen to a band’s songs directly on the band’s page through an integrated music player. They can share the music they find on Facebook and Twitter, and they can buy albums or single tracks directly from the artist without ever leaving Facebook. “
Mashable has a good article of the Johnny Cash video for the song called “Ain’t No Grave” that is created by crowdsourcing from fans. Also a good video with their article. The video is up for a Grammy. This is definitly a trend worth watching 
From the article:
” Consequently, fans all work on their submissions via The Johnny Cash Project website, where their work is added to videos that all alter twice a day.”
An early version of the video below.
BONUS: Another interesting mashup music video provided by Mashable
Filed under Music
PRWeb provides a release that discusses social media user management company Janrain’s partnership with MTV. From the article:
” Visitors to MTVN websites worldwide will be able to quickly and easily login and share content – including comments, articles and video clips – with their friends on multiple social networks and sites including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and MySpace.”
Filed under Facebook, marketing, MTV, Music, MySpace, promotion, Rock Bands, social networks, video
MTV is rolling out a new service called the Music Meter that showcases new up and coming bands and artists. Articles and analysis from:
Inventorspot ” MTV Music Meter is not a streaming service like Pandora, but much more interactive where you can drill down quickly and uncover artists daily. The functionality was built around discovery, sharing, consuming and interacting.”
Mashable ” For this project, MTV worked with music intelligence company EchoNest to develop an algorithm that combs through blogs, social media, video and more traditional metrics (like radio plays and sales) to determine which bands are receiving the most attention on any given day. “
PaidContent.org ” The main idea is for users to click or search for an artist they like and follow the recommendations that point to similar musical tastes.”
Filed under MTV, Music, promotion, Rock Bands, video
